Communication method, network service network element, terminal device, electronic device and medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method, a network service network element, terminal equipment, electronic equipment and a medium, and relates to the technical field of wireless communication. The method comprises the following steps: sending a user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information to terminal equipment, wherein the user plane connection establishment instruction carrying the network service information is used for instructing the terminal equipment to establish user plane connection for network service; receiving a confirmation message returned by the terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information; and transmitting data required by the network service through the user plane connection established by the terminal equipment according to the network service information. The method supports a network service network element to transmit a user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information to a terminal device so as to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service, and further transmits data required by the network service through the established user plane connection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, a network service element, a terminal device, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Artificial Intelligence (AI) services and perception services are widely recognized scenarios in future 6G networks, and these services require large amounts of data interaction with terminals. For specific network elements such as AI and perception, although they are internal network elements, on the one hand, user plane connections need to be established to exchange large amounts of data, and on the other hand, there are specific requirements for both the user plane and the terminal, such as whether the user plane can support the quality requirements such as bandwidth and latency required for the service, and whether the terminal's data and computing power can meet the service requirements.

[0003] The 3GPP specification defines the basic network-initiated service request process, which is mainly used for the transmission of external downlink data and the transmission of signaling plane information of internal network elements. It does not define how internal network elements establish user planes related to specific services with terminal devices, which makes it difficult to meet specific requirements such as AI and perception.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a network service network element, a terminal device, an electronic device and a computer-readable storage medium, which support the network service network element to transmit a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to the terminal device, so as to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service, and then transmit the data required for the network service through the established user plane connection, thereby solving the problem of undefined internal network elements and terminal devices to establish user planes related to specific services in related technologies.

[0006] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by the practice of the present disclosure.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a network service network element, and the method includes: sending a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; receiving a confirmation message returned by the terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information; and transmitting data required for the network service through the user plane connection established by the terminal device according to the network service information.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service information includes at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane transfer data indication information and service related information.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: configuring a terminal policy, and delivering the terminal policy to the terminal device; wherein the terminal policy includes type information of the network service and identification information of the network service; configuring an access and mobility management policy; wherein the access and mobility management policy includes type information of the network service and identification information of the network service.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal policy also includes at least one of the identification information of the terminal device, the address information of the network service, the data network name information, the network slice information and the subnet identification information; the access and mobility management policy also includes at least one of the identification information of the terminal device, the network slice information, the service area restriction information, the quality of service information, the access type information, the wireless access technology type information and the subnet identification information.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: configuring a first session policy and a second session policy; wherein the first session policy includes address information of the network service, and the second session policy is a session policy configured according to the address information of the terminal device.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes: receiving a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information sent by a network service network element; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information, sending a confirmation message to the network service network element; establishing a user plane connection with the network service network element according to the network service information, and transmitting data required for the network service through the user plane connection.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service information includes at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane transfer data indication information and service related information.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, establishing a user plane connection with the network service element according to the network service information includes: routing the user plane connection to the network service element according to address information of the network service.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network service network element is provided, including: a connection establishment indication unit, used to send a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; a confirmation message receiving unit, used to receive a confirmation message returned by the terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information; and a first data transmission unit, used to transmit data required for the network service through the user plane connection established by the terminal device according to the network service information.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided, including: an indication receiving unit, used to receive a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information sent by a network service network element; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; a confirmation message sending unit, used to send a confirmation message to the network service network element in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information; a connection establishment unit, used to establish a user plane connection with the network service network element according to the network service information; and a second data transmission unit, used to transmit data required for the network service through the user plane connection.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; and a storage device configured to store one or more programs, so that when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the communication method as described in the above embodiments.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the communication method as described in the above embodiments is implemented.

[0019] In the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the network service network element can send a user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for transmitting network service data, and then the data required for the network service can be transmitted based on the user plane connection established by the terminal device. In this way, the network service network element is supported to transmit the user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection, and the data required for the network service is transmitted through the established user plane connection, which solves the problem that the internal network element and the terminal device are not defined in the related art to establish a user plane related to a specific service.

[0020] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The drawings herein are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the description are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure, and do not constitute improper limitations on the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing an exemplary architecture of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an exemplary architecture of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 3 A flow chart of a communication method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0025] Figure 4 A flow chart of another communication method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Figure 5 A signaling interaction diagram between a terminal device and each network element in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a network service network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0028] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0029] Figure 8 A structural block diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0031] In addition, the accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar parts, and their repeated description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities can be implemented in software form, or implemented in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or implemented in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0032] It should be noted that the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present disclosure are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects, and the descriptions of "first" and "second" do not limit the objects to be different.

[0033] In the future 6G network, AI services and perception services are generally recognized scenarios. Such services require large amounts of data to be interacted with terminals, and it is necessary to initiate the establishment of user plane connections from the network level. It is necessary to provide service information and service policies to guide the establishment of user planes, such as establishing different sessions for different services, providing customized quality of service (QoS), routing to different service addresses, etc. In addition, the establishment of network services has requirements for terminal resources and data, and the terminal can determine in advance whether the requirements can be met.

[0034] For specific network elements such as AI and perception, although they are internal network elements, on the one hand, they need to establish user plane connections to exchange large amounts of data. On the other hand, there are specific requirements for both the user plane and the terminal. For example, whether the user plane can support the bandwidth, latency and other quality requirements required for the service, and whether the terminal's data and computing power can meet the service requirements.

[0035] The 3GPP specification defines the basic network-initiated service request process, which is mainly used for the transmission of external downlink data and the transmission of signaling plane information of internal network elements. It does not define how internal network elements establish user planes related to specific services with terminal devices, which makes it difficult to meet specific requirements such as AI and perception.

[0036] In order to solve the above problems, the embodiments of the present invention provide a communication method, which supports a network service network element to transmit a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device, so as to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection, and transmit the data required for the network service through the established user plane connection, thereby solving the problem in the related technology that the internal network element and the terminal device are not defined to establish a user plane related to a specific service.

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing an exemplary architecture of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the system architecture includes a terminal device 101, a network 102 and a network-side device 103; the network 102 is used to provide a medium for a communication link between the terminal device 101 and the network-side device 103, and can be a wired network or a wireless network.

[0038] Optionally, the wireless network or wired network described above uses standard communication technology and / or protocol. The network is typically the Internet, but may also be any network, including but not limited to a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a mobile, wired or wireless network, a dedicated network or any combination of a virtual private network. In some embodiments, the data exchanged through the network is represented using technology and / or formats including Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), etc. In addition, conventional encryption technologies such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Virtual Private Network (VPN), Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) may be used to encrypt all or some links. In other embodiments, customized and / or dedicated data communication technologies may also be used to replace or supplement the above data communication technologies.

[0039] Optionally, the terminal device 101 in the embodiment of the present disclosure may also be referred to as UE (User Equipment). In a specific implementation, the terminal device 101 may be a terminal-side device such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop, a personal digital assistant, a mobile Internet device, a wearable device, or a vehicle-mounted device.

[0040] Optionally, the client of the application installed in different terminal devices is the same, or the client of the same type of application based on different operating systems. Based on the different terminal platforms, the specific form of the client of the application can also be different, for example, the application client can be a mobile client, a PC client, etc.

[0041] The network side device 103 includes various network entities of the access network or the core network, including but not limited to access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element and network service network element, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of network side device is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] like Figure 1 As shown, the AMF network element supports UEs with different mobility management requirements. The PCF network element interacts with the access and mobility policy implementation in the AMF network element through the service-based interfaces (SBI); the UDM network element is part of the core network control plane and is the front-end architecture of the user database. The UDM network element is the user subscription data management part of the control plane, responsible for processing business logic, responsible for signaling processing with other core network elements, and saves dynamic data of users and services; the UE sends a subscription data request to the UDM network element through the AMF network element for user registration; the SMF network element is used to establish a session and configure the flow control of the UPF network element to route the traffic to the correct destination. As a user plane network element, the UPF network element mainly supports the routing and forwarding of UE service data, data and service identification, action and policy execution, etc. The UPF network element interacts with the SMF network element through the N4 interface, is controlled and managed by the SMF network element, and processes the service flow according to the various policies issued by the SMF network element. In other words, after the SMF network element receives the session policy control creation response from the PCF network element, it controls the UPF network element to process the service flow. The network service network element can be a network element that provides specific network services, such as an AI network element that provides AI services, a perception network element that provides perception services, etc.

[0043] Those skilled in the art will know that Figure 1The number of terminal devices, networks, and network-side devices in the example is merely illustrative, and any number of terminal devices, networks, and network-side devices may be provided according to actual needs. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0044] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an exemplary architecture of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2 As shown, the system architecture of the present disclosure includes: terminal equipment 201, network service network element 202, access management network element 203, terminal / access and mobility management policy control network element 204, session policy control network element 205 and user plane network element 206.

[0045] It should be noted that each network element in the above system architecture can be a physical entity, a module embedded in other network elements, or a service with specific logic. For example, the network service network element can be a network service, the access management network element can be an access management service, the terminal / access and mobility management policy control network element can be a terminal / access and mobility management policy control service, the session policy control network element can be a session policy control service, and the user plane network element can be a user plane service. For the convenience of description, the network element is used for description in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] Among them, the terminal device 201 is used to establish a user plane connection to the network service network element 202 for data interaction. The network service network element 202 is a network element inside the core network, which can actively interact with the terminal device 201 in a large amount of frequent data, such as AI services, perception services, etc.; the network service network element 202 needs to establish a user plane connection with the terminal device 201 and provide QoS and other guarantees. The access management network element / 203 can perform non-access layer (Non Access Stratum, NAS) transmission with the terminal device 201, and forward user plane service related messages to the network service network element 202 or the terminal device 201. The terminal / access and mobility management policy control network element 204 can receive and forward terminal policies for assisting in establishing user plane connections, and can receive and execute access and mobility management policies for assisting in establishing user plane connections. The session policy control network element 205 can receive and execute session policies for assisting in user plane connections. The user plane network element 206 can be used for user plane data transmission.

[0047] Figure 3 A flow chart of a communication method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 3 The communication method shown in the embodiment can be applied to a network service element, and specifically includes steps S310 to S330.

[0048] Step S310: Send a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to the terminal device, wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service.

[0049] Step S320: receiving a confirmation message returned by the terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information.

[0050] Step S330: transmitting data required for the network service through a user plane connection established by the terminal device according to the network service information.

[0051] Specifically, the network service network element sends a user plane connection establishment indication to the terminal device, and the connection establishment indication includes network service information, so as to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection that supports the network service through the transmission of the network service information; the terminal device returns a confirmation message to the network service network element in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information, and establishes a user plane connection based on the network service information transmitted by the network service network element; the network service network element can transmit the data or information required for the network service through the user plane connection established by the terminal device.

[0052] It can be seen that the communication method of the embodiment of the present disclosure supports the network service network element to transmit a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to the terminal device, so as to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service, and transmit the data required for the network service through the established user plane connection, thereby solving the problem of the related technology that the internal network element and the terminal device are not defined to establish a user plane related to a specific service.

[0053] In order to enable ordinary persons in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present disclosure, each step of the communication method in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0054] In step S310, a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is sent to a terminal device, wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service.

[0055] Based on the data transmission requirements, the network service network element determines that it needs to interact with the terminal device through the user plane due to the large amount of user data and frequent interactions. For example, the federated learning between the network AI service and the terminal device requires frequent interaction of the intermediate results of the training; for another example, the network perception service needs to establish a stable connection with the terminal device to transmit a large amount of perception data.

[0056] When it is determined that interaction with the terminal device is required through the user plane, if there is no user plane connection between the network service network element and the terminal device, a user plane connection establishment indication is sent to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection, and the established user plane connection is used to transmit data required for the network service.

[0057] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a network service network element may send a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to an access management network element, and transmit the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device through the access management network element to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service.

[0058] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service information may include at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane transfer data indication information and service related information.

[0059] Among them, the user plane connection establishment indication may include network service information, specifically, network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information and other information related to the network service, and may also include information used to instruct the terminal device to establish user plane interaction data, that is, user plane data transmission indication information. The type information of the network service and the identification information of the network service can be used to indicate whether it is an AI service, a perception service, or other internally subdivided services. The address information of the network service refers to the address information for transmitting data between the network service network element and the terminal device through the user plane, such as the server IP address used to transmit data through the user plane.

[0060] Network service information can also include service-related information, such as informing relevant information used for federated learning and model training, so that end users can prepare data and related resources in advance; for example, data update requirements, which can be specifically updated regularly or based on threshold conditions.

[0061] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after the network service element determines that it needs to interact with the terminal device through the user plane, it can configure the terminal policy and the first session policy to guide the terminal device to establish a user plane connection through the terminal policy and the first session policy.

[0062] Exemplarily, the communication method may include: configuring a terminal policy, and transmitting the terminal policy to a terminal device, wherein the terminal policy includes type information of a network service and identification information of the network service.

[0063] Specifically, the network element service network element can configure the terminal policy according to the needs to instruct the terminal device whether to establish a dedicated session. For example, an independent session can be established to transmit network service session data through the independent session instead of transmitting it in an established session; for example, the terminal device is in which area to transmit data.

[0064] The terminal policy includes the type information of the network service and the identification information of the network service, so as to describe the specific network service through the type information and identification information of the network service, such as AI service, perception service, and other internally subdivided services. In addition, the terminal policy also includes at least one of the identification information of the terminal device, the address information of the network service, the data network name information (Data Network Name, DNN), the network slice information (Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI) and the subnet identification information.

[0065] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service network element sends the terminal policy to the terminal policy control network element, and then the terminal policy control network element sends the terminal policy to the access management network element, and the terminal policy is delivered to the terminal device through the access management network element.

[0066] Exemplarily, the communication method may include: configuring access and mobility management policies. The access and mobility management policies include type information of network services and identification information of network services, so as to describe specific network services through type information and identification information of network services. Furthermore, the access and mobility management policies also include at least one of identification information of terminal devices, NSSAI, service area restrictions (Service Area Restrictions) information, QoS information, access type information, radio access technology (Radio Access Technology, RAT) type information and subnet identification information. The QoS information may be the aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR) configured for the terminal device, i.e., UE-AMBR.

[0067] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service network element sends the access and mobility management policy to the access and mobility management policy control network element, and then the access and mobility management policy control network element sends the access and mobility management policy to the access management network element.

[0068] Exemplarily, the communication method may include: configuring a first session policy, wherein the first session policy includes address information of a network service.

[0069] The first session policy can be for a single terminal device, a terminal device group, or for any terminal device session-related policy within a certain area / time period. For example, the QoS policy required for network services can be set; for terminal devices in a certain area, nearby network services can be selected.

[0070] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service network element may send the first session policy to the session policy control network element through the user data storage network element.

[0071] It should be noted that if there is a location-related session policy in the first session policy, the session policy control network element can request and subscribe to the location information of the terminal device from the access management network element through the session management network element. The access management network element reports the location information of the terminal device to the network service network element, so that the network service network element determines the address information for providing network services to the terminal device according to the location information. The terminal device refers to the terminal device to which the network service network element sends the user plane connection indication in step S310, that is, the terminal device that needs to establish a user plane connection.

[0072] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after the network service network element confirms that the terminal device needs to establish a user plane connection for transmitting data required for the network service, the terminal policy, access and mobility management policy and the first session policy can be configured to guide the terminal device to establish the user plane connection through the configured policies, so that the terminal device can establish a high-quality user plane connection.

[0073] In step S320, a confirmation message returned by the receiving terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information.

[0074] After receiving the user plane establishment indication message, the terminal device determines whether the network service requirements are met in terms of data, resources, etc. based on the network service information in the message. If so, it means that the terminal device agrees to establish a user plane connection, returns a confirmation message, and establishes a user plane connection with the network service network element. Specifically, the terminal device can establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session required for the network service according to the terminal policy; and the terminal device can obtain the address information of the network service, and route the user plane connection to the network service network element according to the address information.

[0075] Furthermore, if the terminal device determines that the network service requirements are met in terms of data, resources, etc., resources and data can be allocated in advance according to the network service requirements.

[0076] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if the terminal device determines that the network service requirements are not met in terms of data, resources, etc., the terminal device may refuse to establish the connection in the confirmation, that is, the terminal device returns a confirmation message to the network service network element, and the confirmation message includes the reason for refusing to establish the connection.

[0077] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service network element receives the confirmation message returned by the terminal device through the access management network element. That is, the terminal device sends the confirmation message to the access management network element, and the access management network element transmits the confirmation message to the network service network element.

[0078] In the disclosed embodiment, the network service element sends a user plane connection indication carrying network service information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can judge whether it meets the service requirements according to the network service information, and if it meets the service requirements, it returns a confirmation message to the network service element, establishes a user plane connection with the network service element, and allocates resources and data in advance according to the network service requirements. It can be seen that the terminal device can judge in advance whether the network service requirements are met. And if the service requirements are not met, the reason for refusing to establish the connection can be added to the confirmation message, thereby avoiding the consumption of processing resources.

[0079] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after the terminal device establishes a user plane connection with the network service element, the network service element may configure a second session policy, wherein the second session policy is a session policy configured according to address information of the terminal device.

[0080] After the terminal device establishes a user plane connection with the network service element, the network service element can obtain the address information of the terminal device and configure a session policy for the terminal device.

[0081] Furthermore, the network service network element may configure a second session policy and send the second session policy to the session policy control network element. The second session policy may include address information of the terminal device, a routing policy, and a QoS policy.

[0082] In the disclosed embodiment, the network service element may configure a session policy for the terminal device so that the terminal device transmits session data according to the session policy.

[0083] In step S330, the data required for the network service is transmitted through the user plane connection established by the terminal device according to the network service information.

[0084] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after the terminal device establishes a user plane connection with the network service network element, the network service network element may send a notification that the user plane establishment has been completed to the access management network element, so that the access management network element is aware that the network service network element has established a user plane connection with the terminal device.

[0085] The network service network element can transmit the data required for the network service through the user plane connection established by the terminal device, such as transmitting the model parameters related to the AI ​​service, and transmitting the information related to the perception service.

[0086] The communication method of the disclosed embodiment is that a network service network element transmits a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection, and transmits data required for the network service through the established user plane connection, thereby solving the problem in related technologies that an internal network element and a terminal device are not defined to establish a user plane related to a specific service.

[0087] Furthermore, the network service network element can configure terminal policies, access and mobility management policies, and session policies to guide the terminal device to establish a user plane connection through the configured policies, so that the terminal device can establish a high-quality user plane connection. In addition, the type and identification information of the network service can be transmitted through the terminal policy to guide the terminal device to establish a session related to the network service through the terminal policy. In addition, the network service network element transmits a user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can predict whether the network service requirements are met based on the network service information. If the network service requirements are not met, the user plane connection can be refused to be established to avoid the consumption of processing resources.

[0088] Figure 4 A flow chart of another communication method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 The communication method shown in the embodiment can be applied to a terminal device, and specifically includes steps S410 to S430.

[0089] Step S410: receiving a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information sent by a network service network element, wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct a terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service.

[0090] The network service network element determines that it is necessary to interact with the terminal device through the user plane based on the data transmission requirements, the large amount of user data, the frequent interaction, etc. In this case, the network service network element sends a user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information to the terminal device, that is, the terminal device receives the user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information sent by the network service network element, and then the terminal device can establish a user plane connection for transmitting data required for the network service according to the network service information.

[0091] Furthermore, the network service information may include at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane data transfer indication information, and service related information.

[0092] Among them, the network service information may specifically include information related to the network service, such as the type information of the network service, the identification information of the network service, and the address information of the network service. It may also include information used to instruct the terminal device to establish user-plane interaction data, that is, user-plane data transmission indication information. The type information of the network service and the identification information of the network service can be used to indicate whether it is an AI service, a perception service, or other services subdivided within the network. The address information of the network service refers to the address information for transmitting data between the network service network element and the terminal device through the user plane, such as the server IP address used to transmit data through the user plane.

[0093] In addition, network service information can also include service-related information, such as informing relevant information used for federated learning and model training, etc., to facilitate end users to prepare data and related resources in advance; for example, data update requirements, which can be specifically updated regularly or based on threshold conditions.

[0094] Step S420: In response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information, a confirmation message is sent to the network service network element.

[0095] After receiving the user plane connection establishment instruction, the terminal device responds to the user plane connection establishment instruction and determines whether the data, resources, etc. meet the network service requirements according to the network service information. If the network service requirements are met, a confirmation message is returned to the network service network element, a user plane connection with the network service network element is established, and resources and data are allocated in advance according to the network service requirements.

[0096] If the network service requirements are not met, the reason for refusing to establish the connection may be returned to the network service element. Specifically, the reason for refusing to establish the connection may be added to the confirmation message, for example, refusing to establish a user plane connection due to insufficient resources.

[0097] Step S430: Establish a user plane connection with the network service network element according to the network service information, and transmit data required for the network service through the user plane connection.

[0098] The terminal device can establish a user plane connection with the network service network element based on the network service information, and transmit the data required for the network service through the user plane connection, such as model parameters related to AI services, or information related to perception services.

[0099] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, establishing a user plane connection with a network service element according to network service information may include: routing the user plane connection to the network service element according to address information of the network service.

[0100] After the terminal device agrees to establish the user plane connection, the user plane connection can be routed to the network service element according to the address information of the network service. In addition, the terminal device can establish the PDU session required by the network service according to the terminal policy.

[0101] According to the communication method of the disclosed embodiment, a terminal device can receive a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information sent by a network service network element, establish a user plane connection according to the indication, and transmit data required for the network service through the established user plane connection, thereby solving the problem of establishing a user plane related to a specific service between an internal network element and a terminal device that is not defined in the related art.

[0102] Since the principle of solving the problem in the communication method embodiment applied to the terminal device is similar to that of the above-mentioned communication method embodiment applied to the network service network element, the implementation of the communication method embodiment applied to the terminal device can refer to the implementation of the above-mentioned communication method embodiment applied to the network service network element, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0103] For ease of understanding, specific embodiments are listed below to illustrate the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0104] Figure 5 A diagram showing the signaling interaction between a terminal device and each network element in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 5 The embodiment shows the specific process of the terminal device communicating with each network element through the user plane. Figure 5 As shown, the specific signaling interaction may include the following steps.

[0105] Step S501: The network service element determines the need to interact with the terminal device through the user plane according to data transmission requirements.

[0106] For example, due to the large amount of terminal user data and frequent interactions, the network service network element determines to interact with the terminal device through the user plane. For another example, federated learning between the network AI service and the terminal device requires frequent interaction of the intermediate results of training. The AI ​​network element determines to interact with the terminal device through the user plane. For another example, the network perception service needs to establish a stable connection with the terminal device to transmit a large amount of perception data. The perception network element determines to interact with the terminal device through the user plane.

[0107] Step S502: The network service network element configures a terminal policy to a terminal policy control network element according to demand, and configures an access and mobility management policy to an access and mobility management policy control network element.

[0108] The terminal policy indicates whether the terminal device should establish a dedicated session. For example, if the requirement is to establish a dedicated session, the terminal policy is configured to indicate when and in which area the terminal device transmits data. The terminal policy control network element may be a policy control network element serving the terminal device, for example, a PCF network element serving the terminal device in 5G.

[0109] The terminal policy may include the type and ID (identification) parameters of the network service, such as AI service, perception service, and internal segmented service, etc. In addition, the terminal policy may also include the ID of the terminal device, the address information of the network service, DNN, NSSAI, and possible subnet-related ID information in the future.

[0110] And, the access and mobility management policy includes the type and ID (identification) parameters of the network service, for example, the type and ID parameters of the network service indicate AI services, perception services, and internal segmented services, etc. In addition, the access and mobility management policy may also include the terminal device ID, NSSAI, service area restriction information, QoS information, access type, RAT type, and possible subnet-related ID information in the future.

[0111] Step S503: The terminal policy control network element sends the terminal policy to the access management network element, which then passes it to the terminal device. Also, the access and mobility management policy control network element sends the access and mobility management policy to the access management network element.

[0112] Step S504: the network service network element configures a first session policy and sends the first session policy to the session policy control network element. Specifically, the session policy may be sent to the session policy control network element through the user data storage network element.

[0113] The first session strategy can be for a single terminal device, a terminal device group, or any terminal in a certain area / time period to set a session-related strategy. For example, the QoS strategy required for the service can be set, and for a terminal device in a certain area, a nearby network service can be selected.

[0114] Step S505: If the first session policy includes a session policy related to location, the session policy control network element will request and subscribe to the location information of the terminal device from the access management network element through the session management network element.

[0115] Step S506: The access management network element reports the location information to the network service network element, and the network service network element determines address information for providing network services to the terminal device based on the location information.

[0116] Step S507: If there is no user plane connection between the network service network element and the terminal device, the network service network element sends an N1N2 message to the access management network element to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection.

[0117] The N1N2 message includes network service information, which is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection and transmit the data required for the network service through the user plane connection. Specifically, the network service information may include: user plane data transmission indication information, network service type and ID information, network service address information, and service related information.

[0118] User plane data transmission indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection to exchange data through the user plane connection; the type and ID information of the network service is used to indicate whether it is an AI service, a perception service, or other internally subdivided services; the address information of the network service is used to indicate the address information of the network service network element and the terminal device for transmitting data through the user plane; service-related information is other information related to the network service, such as informing that this information is used for federated learning, model-related information, etc., to facilitate the terminal device to prepare data and related resources in advance, and to update regularly according to data update requirements or according to threshold conditions.

[0119] Step S508: The access management network element transmits the user plane data transfer indication information, the type and ID information of the network service, the address information of the network service, and the service related information to the terminal device through a downlink NAS message.

[0120] Step S509, the terminal device determines whether it can meet the network service requirements in terms of data, resources, etc. according to the type of network service, ID information, and service-related information, and can allocate resources and data in advance.

[0121] Step S510: If the network service requirement is met, the terminal device transmits a confirmation message to the access management network element through an uplink NAS message, i.e., the network service user plane transmits the confirmation message. And, if the network service requirement cannot be met, the terminal device refuses to establish a connection through a confirmation message, and the reason for refusing to establish a connection is stated in the confirmation message.

[0122] Step S511: The access management network element sends an N1 message to the network service network element, and transmits the confirmation message returned by the terminal device to the network service network element through the N1 message.

[0123] Step S512: If the terminal device agrees to establish a user plane connection, the terminal device establishes a session and establishes a user plane connection with the network service element.

[0124] Among them, the terminal device establishes the PDU session required for the network service according to the terminal policy; and routes the established user plane to the network service network element according to the address information of the network service.

[0125] Step S513: The network service element configures a second session policy, wherein the second session policy is a session policy configured for the address information of the terminal device, and may include the address information of the terminal device, a QoS policy, and a routing policy.

[0126] Step S514: The network service network element notifies the access management network element that the user plane connection establishment has been completed.

[0127] In step S515, the terminal device and the network service network element transmit the data required for the network service, such as AI-related model parameters, perception-related information, etc., through the established user plane connection.

[0128] It should be noted that Figure 5 The embodiment shows an example of the terminal device agreeing to establish a user plane connection. If the terminal device refuses to establish a user plane connection, the confirmation message returned by the terminal device in step S510 includes the reason for refusing to establish the connection. Through step S511, the network service network element can make it clear that the terminal device refuses to establish the connection. In addition, Figure 5 Steps S502 to S506 , step S513 , and step S514 in the embodiment are optional steps.

[0129] The communication method of the disclosed embodiment is that a network service network element transmits a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection, and transmits data required for the network service through the established user plane connection, thereby solving the problem in related technologies that an internal network element and a terminal device are not defined to establish a user plane related to a specific service.

[0130] Furthermore, the network service network element can configure terminal policies, access and mobility management policies, and session policies to guide the terminal device to establish a user plane connection through the configured policies, so that the terminal device can establish a high-quality user plane connection. In addition, the type and identification information of the network service can be transmitted through the terminal policy to guide the terminal device to establish a session related to the network service through the terminal policy. In addition, the network service network element transmits a user plane connection establishment instruction carrying network service information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can predict whether the network service requirements are met based on the network service information. If the network service requirements are not met, the user plane connection can be refused to be established to avoid the consumption of processing resources.

[0131] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network service element, as described in the following embodiments.

[0132] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a network service element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 As shown, the network service network element 600 may include a connection establishment indication unit 610 , a confirmation message receiving unit 620 and a first data transmission unit 630 .

[0133] Among them, the connection establishment indication unit 610 can be used to: send a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to the terminal device, and the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; the confirmation message receiving unit 620 can be used to: receive a confirmation message returned by the terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information; the first data transmission unit 630 can be used to: transmit data required for the network service through the user plane connection established by the terminal device according to the network service information.

[0134] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service information includes at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane transfer data indication information and service related information.

[0135] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service network element 600 may further include a policy configuration unit 640, which is used to: configure a terminal policy and deliver the terminal policy to a terminal device, wherein the terminal policy includes type information of the network service and identification information of the network service; configure an access and mobility management policy, wherein the access and mobility management policy includes type information of the network service and identification information of the network service.

[0136] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal policy also includes at least one of the identification information of the terminal device, address information of the network service, data network name information, network slice information and subnet identification information; the access and mobility management policy also includes at least one of the identification information of the terminal device, network slice information, service area restriction information, service quality information, access type information, wireless access technology type information and subnet identification information.

[0137] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the policy configuration unit 640 is further used to configure a first session policy and a second session policy, wherein the first session policy includes address information of a network service, and the second session policy is a session policy configured according to the address information of a terminal device.

[0138] Since the principle of solving the problem in the network service network element embodiment is similar to that in the above method embodiment, the implementation of the network service network element embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above method embodiment, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0139] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a terminal device, such as the following embodiments.

[0140] Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 7 As shown, the terminal device 700 may include an indication receiving unit 710 , a confirmation message sending unit 720 , a connection establishing unit 730 and a second data transmitting unit 740 .

[0141] Among them, the indication receiving unit 710 can be used to: receive a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information sent by a network service network element, and the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; the confirmation message sending unit 720 can be used to: send a confirmation message to the network service network element in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information; the connection establishment unit 730 can be used to: establish a user plane connection with the network service network element according to the network service information; the second data transmission unit 740 can be used to: transmit data required for the network service through the user plane connection.

[0142] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network service information includes at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane transfer data indication information and service related information.

[0143] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the connection establishing unit 730 may also be used to: route the user plane connection to the network service element according to the address information of the network service.

[0144] Since the principle of solving the problem in the terminal device embodiment is similar to that in the above method embodiment, the implementation of the above method embodiment can be referred to for the real-time implementation of the terminal device embodiment, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0145] Figure 8 FIG. 1 shows a structural block diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that: Figure 8 The electronic device shown is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0146] like Figure 8As shown, the electronic device 800 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 801, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 802 or a program loaded from a storage part 808 into a random access memory (RAM) 803. In the RAM 803, various programs and data required for the operation of the electronic device 800 are also stored. The CPU 801, the ROM 802, and the RAM 803 are connected to each other via a bus 804. An input / output (I / O) interface 805 is also connected to the bus 804.

[0147] The following components are connected to the I / O interface 805: an input section 806 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an output section 807 including a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and a speaker, etc.; a storage section 808 including a hard disk, etc.; and a communication section 809 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, etc. The communication section 809 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. A drive 810 is also connected to the I / O interface 805 as needed. A removable medium 811, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc., is installed on the drive 810 as needed, so that a computer program read therefrom is installed into the storage section 808 as needed.

[0148] In particular, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the process described above with reference to the flowchart can be implemented as a computer software program. For example, an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a computer program product, which includes a computer program carried on a computer-readable medium, and the computer program contains a program code for executing the method shown in the flowchart. In such an embodiment, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network through a communication part 809, and / or installed from a removable medium 811. When the computer program is executed by a central processing unit (CPU) 801, the above-mentioned functions defined in the system of the present disclosure are executed.

[0149] It should be noted that the computer-readable medium shown in the present disclosure may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium or any combination of the above two. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, terminal device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, a terminal device or a device. In the present disclosure, a computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, in which a computer-readable program code is carried. This propagated data signal may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. The computer-readable signal medium may also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which may send, propagate or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, a terminal device or a device. The program code contained on the computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to: wireless, wire, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

[0150] The flow charts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the possible architecture, functions and operations of the systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each box in the flow chart or block diagram can represent a module, a program segment, or a part of a code, and the above-mentioned module, program segment, or a part of a code contains one or more executable instructions for realizing the specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the box can also occur in a different order from the order marked in the accompanying drawings. For example, two boxes represented in succession can actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they can sometimes be executed in the opposite order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each box in the block diagram or flow chart, and the combination of the boxes in the block diagram or flow chart can be implemented with a dedicated hardware-based system that performs a specified function or operation, or can be implemented with a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0151] The units involved in the embodiments described in the present disclosure may be implemented by software or by hardware. The units described may also be provided in a processor, for example, may be described as: a processor including a connection establishment indication unit, a confirmation message receiving unit, and a first data transmission unit. The names of these units do not, in certain cases, constitute limitations on the units themselves, for example, the connection establishment indication unit may also be described as a "unit for sending a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device".

[0152] As another aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may be included in the electronic device described in the above embodiments; or may exist independently without being assembled into the electronic device. The above computer-readable storage medium carries one or more programs, and when the above one or more programs are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device implements the method described in the following embodiments. For example, the electronic device may implement the following Figure 4 The steps shown.

[0153] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product or a computer program is provided, the computer program product or the computer program including computer instructions, the computer instructions being stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the methods provided in various optional implementations of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0154] It should be understood that any number of elements in the drawings of the present disclosure is for illustration rather than limitation, and any naming is only for distinction rather than having any limiting meaning.

[0155] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The description and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the following claims.

[0156] It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the exact structures that have been described above and shown in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a network service element, and the method comprises: Sending a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; Receiving a confirmation message returned by the terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information; The data required for the network service is transmitted through the user plane connection established by the terminal device according to the network service information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The network service information includes at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane data transfer indication information and service related information.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Configuring a terminal policy, and delivering the terminal policy to the terminal device; wherein the terminal policy includes type information of the network service and identification information of the network service; Configure access and mobility management policies; wherein the access and mobility management policies include type information of the network service and identification information of the network service.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The terminal policy also includes at least one of the identification information of the terminal device, the address information of the network service, the data network name information, the network slice information and the subnet identification information; The access and mobility management strategy also includes at least one of the identification information of the terminal device, the network slice information, the service area restriction information, the quality of service information, the access type information, the wireless access technology type information and the subnet identification information.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first session policy and a second session policy are configured; wherein the first session policy includes the address information of the network service, and the second session policy is a session policy configured according to the address information of the terminal device.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a terminal device, and the method comprises: Receiving a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information sent by a network service network element; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; In response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information, sending a confirmation message to the network service network element; A user plane connection with the network service network element is established according to the network service information, and data required for the network service is transmitted through the user plane connection.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The network service information includes at least one of network service type information, network service identification information, network service address information, user plane data transfer indication information and service related information.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The establishing a user plane connection with the network service network element according to the network service information includes: The user plane connection is routed to the network service network element according to the address information of the network service.

9. A network service element, characterized in that: include: A connection establishment indication unit, configured to send a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information to a terminal device; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; A confirmation message receiving unit, configured to receive a confirmation message returned by the terminal device in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information; The first data transmission unit is used to transmit data required for the network service through a user plane connection established by the terminal device according to the network service information.

10. A terminal device, characterized in that: include: An indication receiving unit, configured to receive a user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information sent by a network service network element; wherein the user plane connection establishment indication carrying network service information is used to instruct the terminal device to establish a user plane connection for the network service; a confirmation message sending unit, configured to send a confirmation message to the network service network element in response to the user plane connection establishment indication carrying the network service information; A connection establishing unit, configured to establish a user plane connection with the network service network element according to the network service information; The second data transmission unit is used to transmit data required by the network service through the user plane connection.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; A storage device configured to store one or more programs, which, when executed by the one or more processors, enables the one or more processors to implement the communication method described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or to implement the communication method described in any one of claims 6 to 8.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is implemented, or the communication method according to any one of claims 6 to 8 is implemented.

Images